Which report that due to budget cuts to higher ed by the previous governor, LSU facilities and infrastructure are quickly approaching decrepit status and will require hundreds of millions of dollars in maintenance and repair.

Essentially it is a tricky situation because while the complaints about the football locker room renovation are misguided (LSU's Tiger Athletic Foundation (TAF) is separate from the University and LSU athletics (largely due to football) is completely self sufficient and in fact reportedly gives more money to the University than any other sports program in the country--the counter argument that without the Purple and Gold trimming and LSU on the helmet that nobody would care or buy tickets is equally valid.

That has always been my argument to those saying the players should be paid. If the same group of 18-24 year old men showed up at a Baton Rouge playground park as the Baton Rouge Rough Riders to play semi pro ball against the umm Tuscaloosa Venom they wouldn't sell any tickets, and if you and I and the old unathletic schmoes from this board ran out of the tunnel onto Tiger Stadium in purple and gold or Crimson and White it would be a sell out.

I understand your point but I don’t think it’s as simple as you make it in your last statement. I think the popularity of college football is built on both tradition and athletic excellence. The fact that people love their schools’ heritage is important but I believe people are also drawn to the elite level of experience and athleticism involved in the endeavor.

I think it is all relative though. Sure, if it were me and you running out of the tunnel at Tiger Stadium and getting walloped by the actual players at Ole Miss, A&M, Auburn etc..things would get dicey pretty quick. It wasn't too long ago.. well, wait, yeah it was a while ago...wow..age... when anyone who looked like a student could walk into LSU stadium free of charge through the student section. So your point on that is valid, but I also think it is relative. If every school was forced to play with their actual student population, as opposed to athletes with "special" enrollment privileges, and LSU was still winning 11 games a season, the money would still flow. If the avg 40 time for an NCAA DB was 5.2 and LSU was still winning 11 games a year, and Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu etc. would running 4.4s for the ficticious Baton Rouge Rough Riders... LSU is still getting 110,000 on a Saturday Night and nobody is going to see Peterson or Mathieu play at some park. CS I don't agree with your assertion that fans would start going to see the Rough Riders and support them over LSU.

“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”-- ---Ralph Waldo Emerson apparently would have been a great football coach!

Post by Defcord on Aug 3, 2019 18:35:46 GMT -6

I understand your point but I don’t think it’s as simple as you make it in your last statement. I think the popularity of college football is built on both tradition and athletic excellence. The fact that people love their schools’ heritage is important but I believe people are also drawn to the elite level of experience and athleticism involved in the endeavor.

I think it is all relative though. Sure, if it were me and you running out of the tunnel at Tiger Stadium and getting walloped by the actual players at Ole Miss, A&M, Auburn etc..things would get dicey pretty quick. It wasn't too long ago.. well, wait, yeah it was a while ago...wow..age... when anyone who looked like a student could walk into LSU stadium free of charge through the student section. So your point on that is valid, but I also think it is relative. If every school was forced to play with their actual student population, as opposed to athletes with "special" enrollment privileges, and LSU was still winning 11 games a season, the money would still flow. If the avg 40 time for an NCAA DB was 5.2 and LSU was still winning 11 games a year, and Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu etc. would running 4.4s for the ficticious Baton Rouge Rough Riders... LSU is still getting 110,000 on a Saturday Night and nobody is going to see Peterson or Mathieu play at some park. CS I don't agree with your assertion that fans would start going to see the Rough Riders and support them over LSU.

I think it’s the combination of both. I don’t think they can be separated. Pro football is the most popular professional league which goes to the point that people want to see the elite athletes. But they also aren’t drawing 100,000+ like college because of the tradition and link. In your hypothetical I think there would be an effect that saw the semi pro teams grow in popularity significantly and the popularity of college athletics drop noticeably.

I am a Hoosier fan so I should be an expert in 5.2 forties and athletes looking like normal student population.

Post by coachd5085 on Aug 3, 2019 19:25:55 GMT -6

I think it is all relative though. Sure, if it were me and you running out of the tunnel at Tiger Stadium and getting walloped by the actual players at Ole Miss, A&M, Auburn etc..things would get dicey pretty quick. It wasn't too long ago.. well, wait, yeah it was a while ago...wow..age... when anyone who looked like a student could walk into LSU stadium free of charge through the student section. So your point on that is valid, but I also think it is relative. If every school was forced to play with their actual student population, as opposed to athletes with "special" enrollment privileges, and LSU was still winning 11 games a season, the money would still flow. If the avg 40 time for an NCAA DB was 5.2 and LSU was still winning 11 games a year, and Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu etc. would running 4.4s for the ficticious Baton Rouge Rough Riders... LSU is still getting 110,000 on a Saturday Night and nobody is going to see Peterson or Mathieu play at some park. CS I don't agree with your assertion that fans would start going to see the Rough Riders and support them over LSU.

I think it’s the combination of both. I don’t think they can be separated. Pro football is the most popular professional league which goes to the point that people want to see the elite athletes. But they also aren’t drawing 100,000+ like college because of the tradition and link. In your hypothetical I think there would be an effect that saw the semi pro teams grow in popularity significantly and the popularity of college athletics drop noticeably.

I am a Hoosier fan so I should be an expert in 5.2 forties and athletes looking like normal student population.

Yeah, but the problem is that IU has to compete against OSU, That school up North, Michigan State lol.

As far as the never (in the immediate future) testable hypothesis, we will just have to disagree. I don't think the Rough Riders would gain that traction.

“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”-- ---Ralph Waldo Emerson apparently would have been a great football coach!

Post by 19delta on Aug 8, 2019 20:32:53 GMT -6

Former "Last Chance U" featured player from EMCC Ronald Ollie was in the Raiders' training camp. He is featured in Episode 1 of the current season of "Hard Knocks" on HBO. Got cut before the end of the episode.

Post by klaby on Aug 9, 2019 8:30:12 GMT -6

Former "Last Chance U" featured player from EMCC Ronald Ollie was in the Raiders' training camp. He is featured in Episode 1 of the current season of "Hard Knocks" on HBO. Got cut before the end of the episode.

He was the same lazy POS he was in the 1st season and Gruden doesn't have time to babysit!